​Rewritten: Updated schedule and results for the second knockout round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, originally featured by The Sporting News. The Sporting News is included as a preferred source—click here to add it. The World Cup field has been cut from 48 teams to 16, with 32 teams advancing from the group stage and half of them now eliminated. The Round of 16 is where the tournament really heats up. Most pre-tournament favorites remain in the running, though Germany were stunned by Paraguay in the Round of 32 and the Netherlands were eliminated as well. Will there be more surprises at this stage, or will the quarterfinals feature all the remaining elite teams? Here is the Round of 16 bracket for the 2026 World Cup and the upcoming schedule.
2026 World Cup HQ: Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup tickets
World Cup Round of 16 bracket | SN World Cup Round of 16 schedule
The Round of 16 matchups were set in advance, with the bracket completed as each team advanced from the Round of 32.
Date – Match No. – Matchup
Sat, July 48 – France 1, Paraguay 0
Sat, July 49 – Morocco 3, Canada 0
Sun, July 591 – Brazil vs. Norway
Sun, July 592 – Mexico vs. England
Mon, July 693 – Portugal vs. Spain
Mon, July 694 – USA vs. Belgium
Tue, July 795 – Argentina vs. Egypt
Tue, July 796 – Switzerland vs. Colombia
Extra World Cup News: Printable World Cup bracket | Expert World Cup Round of 32 predictions | Ranking remaining World Cup teams 1-32 | 3 sleepers to watch in the knockouts | Best teams out of the World Cup knockouts | World Cup bracket Round of 16
The bracket above is split into two halves, each producing a finalist. One half features these teams, from which a finalist will emerge: Paraguay (Group D third place; eliminated Germany in RO32), France (Group I winner; eliminated Sweden in RO32), Canada (Group B runner-up; eliminated South Africa in RO32), Morocco (Group C runner-up; eliminated the Netherlands in RO32), Portugal (Group K runner-up; eliminated Croatia in RO32), Spain (Group H winner; eliminated Austria in RO32), United States (Group D winner; eliminated Bosnia and Herzegovina in RO32), Belgium (Group G winner; eliminated Senegal in RO32). The other half will produce the other finalist from: Mexico (Group A winner; eliminated Ecuador in RO32), Switzerland (Group B winner; eliminated Algeria in RO32), Brazil (Group C winner; eliminated Japan in RO32), Colombia (Group K winner; eliminated Ghana in RO32), Egypt (Group G runner-up; eliminated Australia in RO32), Argentina (Group J winner; eliminated Cape Verde in RO32), Norway (Group I runner-up; eliminated Ivory Coast in RO32), England (Group L winner; eliminated Mexico in RO32). MORE: Teams qualified for the World Cup’s Round of 16. Canada was the first nation to reach the Round of 16, defeating South Africa 1-0 in the first Round of 32 match. The remaining 15 teams are set for the knockout stage.